200 Palestinians, 25 settlers clash in West Bank

Sunday

Feb 24, 2013 at 12:01 AMFeb 24, 2013 at 12:37 PM

JERUSALEM - Clashes erupted yesterday in the West Bank when Jewish settlers shot two Palestinian demonstrators in the northern village of Kusra, an Israeli military official and Palestinian residents said.

JERUSALEM — Clashes erupted yesterday in the West Bank when Jewish settlers shot two Palestinian demonstrators in the northern village of Kusra, an Israeli military official and Palestinian residents said.

The clashes reflected mounting friction in the West Bank, as Palestinians have faced off against Israeli troops in recent weeks in a series of demonstrations protesting Israel’s control of the territory and in solidarity with four prisoners on a hunger strike in Israeli jails.

Also yesterday, a Palestinian prisoner died in an Israeli jail, an event likely to further intensify tension.

In the West Bank skirmish, Helmi Abdul-Aziz, 24, was shot in the stomach by Jewish settlers, Palestinian demonstrators said. They said Jewish settlers also shot 14-year-old Mustafa Hilal in the foot.

An Israeli military official confirmed that two Palestinians were shot, but said the bullets appeared to have been fired by Jewish settlers because the Israeli forces were not using live ammunition. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

A Palestinian hospital official said Abdul-Aziz was in serious condition. The medic also requested anonymity.

Villagers said the clashes began when a group of Jewish settlers encroached on their village and fired guns. They said Jewish settlers chased a Palestinian farmer and his family off land, prompting the farmer to call on residents to confront the settlers, and men on both sides hurled rocks at each other.

The Israeli military official said about 200 Palestinians and 25 Jewish settlers took part in the clashes, and Israeli forces chased Palestinian protestors using “riot dispersal means.”

Israel Radio reported that settlers from Eish Kodesh said the clashes began when Palestinians entered their outpost and began destroying their vineyards.

Palestinian prisoner Arafat Shalish Shahin Jaradat died yesterday of an apparent heart attack, according to Israeli prison-services spokeswoman Sivan Weizman. She said Jaradat had not been on a hunger strike.

Israel’s domestic-intelligence agency, the Shin Bet, said in a statement to reporters that Jaradat, 30, had been arrested on Feb. 18 after residents in his West Bank village of Saeer said he was involved in a rock-throwing attack that injured an Israeli citizen.